Animal Crackers
by SuperWolfWho
Summary: Peter Hale changes his nephew's life while dropping him off at school one morning. Five year old Derek gets a best friend, chocolate animal crackers, and a girl that wiggles into his life when his uncle stops said girl from running into the street. Past, present, and future. Shades of AU.
1. Chapter 1

Written For Ava's Request on Tumblr, for a Derek Hale/OFC fanfiction. I don't own Teen Wolf or any of it's characters. Maddison/Maddie is merely a creation of my imagination.

* * *

Derek remembers the first time they met was totally by accident because Uncle Peter was taking him to school since Papa had a meeting with another Alpha from out of town and Mama was taking care of a sick Laura, the twins were old enough to walk to school and hated being seen with their littlest brother, and it was Uncle Peter who grabbed the tiny five-year old version girl named Maddison, a brown-haired blur in that moment, from running out into the street and getting hit by a car. He remembers just how upset the then little girl was because her own father had to go away on a business trip or something like that, and she was upset because he promised they would spend her birthday weekend together. He remembers because Peter takes the both of them inside trying to console a hysterical girl that kicks him in the shin when he tries to hand her over to her new teacher, who happens to be Derek's own Ms. Jones, and then he goes and tells Derek to watch out and make sure that girl does not try anything like that again. It's okay because eventually Maddison calms down enough that she's reduced to mere sniffles and by the time snack time rolls around she offers some of her animal crackers to him, the really yummy chocolate kind too, and they bond over a mutual love of chocolate cookies. He learns that she likes to be called Maddie, her family just moved to Beacon Hills, and it is just Maddie, her dad, and her Nana, no Mama because she never had one in the first place.

They become best friends.

Well, it is more like she wiggles into his life as his best friend, since Derek really does not consider them friends till she punches Bobby Morris in the face two weeks later after he calls Derek something really nasty and pushes him off the jungle gym during recess. Bobby has a black eye that lasts a week, Derek has cuts and bruises for maybe at most an hour, and Maddie has a friend for life but looses any real chance at making friends with other girls, which suits her fine enough because they make fun of her for not having a Mama anyway. He tells this to his parents after school, and Uncle Peter comes in laughing overhearing the entire conversation, ruffling his hair, and telling him not try and kiss the girl yet, she's a bit too young. It makes Derek go red in the face but makes his parents laugh too. It happens nearly every time, when Maddie is brought up, like when he asks if he can go and play at her house after school, or when he gets invited to her birthday dinner next year since her dad is there for once, or when he drags her to the park to play, or when he asks if she can come over, just once, and there are smiles, laughs, and everything is set for the future. There are always those chocolate animal crackers too.

Then he starts to shift.

It actually starts right before they head off to middle school and they are close enough that Maddie knows, with her warm brown eyes staring into his very soul at this moment, that something has changed in him, and Derek wonders if she can know just by looking. Instead he keeps his mouth shut, because werewolves are supposed to be myths, and ignores her questions on just why he blew her off this weekend when he was supposed to go with her shopping for school supplies. He ignores her glances during his classes, ignores the questions in the halls, and ignores the way she punches the locker frustration, because he cannot tell her a damn thing. And he wishes that he could be he knows she knows something is up since they never blow off each other unless something happens. She yells at him the next day, yells and stamps her foot, and it takes every little ounce of control not to let his eyes glow blue, not to grab her and show her, not to tell her, "Look at me, just look and see what I am," and scare her away. But he thinks, the tiny bit in the back of his head where he lets himself dream, that she would not care because maybe, just maybe, there might be people out there that really do not care if he is a werewolf and maybe Maddie is one of them.

Peter says give it time and that girls are complex creatures. His Papa, Alpha, leader, the one who needs to know everything, is told of the situation, and it makes for a night-long discussion on the importance of secrets and keeping the family safe. Laura and twins got the same talk but now it is his turn. The pack runs and howls at the full moon that weekend and Derek tries to forget about the fact he is keeping so many secrets from the one person he swore never to do that to.

That's okay because when they are both thirteen Maddie's Nana dies while her father is away, and she runs away from the paramedics, the police officers, even the Sheriff himself, and runs all the way to his house in the middle of the forest, hysterical, upset, and stumbles upon the secret anyway since she come over unannounced. It is forgivable because she runs past Laura who is actually the one who opens the door, straight into a partially shifted Peter, who grabs her but is so shocked at seeing the girl lets her go right into Derek's arms and he's the one who now calms her down. It ends with his Mama calling the Sheriff to let the man know exactly where Maddie is and that she is safe, along with hot chocolate and a long discussion over how her Nana died, what she saw, and just how important she knows that no one else can know. Derek is the one who pulls out the chocolate animal crackers from the kitchen and curls up with her on the couch while his Papa explains the rules now because she knows and no one is dying tonight so it is safe to say that the pleas from him got his Papa to understand. Besides, it is nice not to lie and Maddie promises that she would never betray her best friend.

They start high school together, just a few years after Laura starts, and suddenly things start to change again. Because Maddie is suddenly a girl, an actual girl, and Derek has this odd urge to slam faces into lockers when he catches other guys looking at her in a way that they should not. He assumes that is just because he is protective, always has been, because he is the one who can calm her down from hysterics, he is the voice of reason when they do stupid stuff, and he is bigger, faster, stronger, and he has to watch out for her. He notices the way she smells, nice and sweet and sort of like the shampoo that she always uses, and watches her run at track meets and grins when she sees him play for the school baseball team. It bothers him when she gets asked out by others, bothers him when she smells like another boy, and it drives him up the wall when he can't reach her on her cell because she is on a date with some guy that clearly is up to no good because three weeks later he is letting her cry in his arms while they munch on those chocolate animal crackers at her house post-break up since she wouldn't give it up on the third date.

He breaks the guy's nose, partially for breaking Maddie's heart and partially for touching what is Derek's.

Not that he admits it to anyone but Peter, who understands better than his own parents what is going on catches on quickly. He is the only one who understands after Derek and Maddie steal her father's car when she finally turns sixteen and go for a joy ride to the coast to see the waves hit the sand. He covers for them when they get back late from a movie, the drive-in kind that only happen once every few months for a fundraiser because Maddie wanted to stay for the double feature and Derek can't say no to her when she pouts. He understands just how important they are to one another and he sees everything. And he hopes that nothing happens to tear them apart because he likes seeing his nephew happy and does like the girl too, who kept her promise to not only the pack, but to Derek also.

But then there is Kate and suddenly his family is less important, suddenly Maddie is less important, and he so enamored that someone, blonde, beautiful, older, experienced, wants him, just him, and he blows up at his best friend when she points out that Kate is too old, they are both just sixteen and the woman is what, in her twenties? He ignores her pleas that this isn't love, this isn't right, and there is something wrong with Kate and the way the blonde looks at him. Derek thinks this is because she is jealous, jealous because there is someone else that has his attention, jealous because he is finally being treated like an adult for once rather than the baby of the family, jealous because he is no longer solely her's, and in the end he feels a bit vindictive because it is getting back for all the times he saw her with a guy (even if it was only once and even if he ended up punching out that idiot). Kate is his first, his very first, and he is so enamored he cannot see anything wrong with her or just how her eyes are just a bit frosty when he brings up meeting his family or just how she shivers slightly in disgust when he mentions he has to go to a family (pack) meeting. He is so sure she is the one, the very one, and he makes the mistake of telling this to Maddie who in turn runs off without saying a word.

And everything goes up in smoke, ash, and death. Derek thinks it is his entire fault and maybe if he listened things would be different.

Laura is the Alpha now, ill prepared, and Uncle Peter is just an empty husk. Laura whisks him away to New York, to Brooklyn, where they have a few human relatives, distant cousins, who can calm the orphans, and Derek never says goodbye because he cannot speak for days, weeks, months even. And when he finally does open up it is to Laura, fierce, brilliant Laura, who holds him close and buries her own pain to be strong. She takes care of him while he tries to function without his pack, without his family, without constantly blaming him self for everything that happened. Beacon Hills is a part of him that needs to be buried far away and any reminds set him off.

He ignores the phone calls, the emails, the letters, everything, because he needs to forget that maybe if he just listened then things would be different.

It takes four years but finally they stop. The letters slow down. The very last one is sent to him gives him an address somewhere in San Francisco, a phone number, and a final plea to just say something. It comes with a package of those fucking animal crackers that he burns in a trashcan while Laura watches from the window of the shared apartment. Life moves on and he adjusts as best as possible, even if he knows his sister stashes away all the letters that he tried to throw into the garbage.

Life moves on and he grows up.

And Laura leaves for Beacon Hills because someone calls and has news about Peter. Derek is long gone by then, moved out somewhere a few months after the letters stop and tries to reason with his sister, but when her eyes flash red he backs down, knowing that in the end she is the Alpha, in charge, and Peter is still part of their pack, empty shell or not. And she goes and gets killed, torn in half by hunters after being murdered, used as bait that lures Derek back to a place he swore he was never going to go to.

He drives cross-country and switches the plates on the Camaro so no one notices. New York plates in California would draw attention and that is the last thing he needs right now. But there is huge mess, a kid named Scott turned into a werewolf, with a best friend who knows too much and speaks too much, but Derek can't help but be reminded of Maddie just a little bit, and there are Argents in town too, while an Alpha is on the loose and causing trouble. He tries seeing Peter, the tiny bit of him hoping that maybe, just maybe, something changed, but the body is still just that, a burnt out husk. He still goes and talks though because a tiny bit of hope never hurts.

He doesn't stop by Maddie's old house, even if her father still lives there, retired, sick, and now an old man that Derek can't remember looking so burnt out. Driving by once made him sick because it smelled like her, just a bit, and his hands tighten around the steering wheel hard enough to leave marks. The old rusty red pick up that they stole sits in the driveway and brings back memories he tries so hard to block out.

Derek soldiers on, ignoring the faint memory of chocolate animal crackers and cool milk.

And somewhere he gets betrayed, again, over and over, and damn it, the McCall kid needs to learn to control himself or risk everything and anything. Stiles, the one who never shuts up, he's not too bad, but he can only take so much at so once, and suddenly Kate is there and he wants to rip her throat out with his teeth for what she did. The world is this mess, a giant mess, and Peter is faking a coma, killed Laura, and lies about everything. Madness has taken away the kind uncle who saved the little girl from being hit by a car, who offered the boy some advice on dealing with girls, who was there and knew that maybe Derek and Maddie might be the hope for the future, and he is angry. But he remembers before, he remembers the past, and for a second he pauses looking into his uncle's face before striking the final blow because this is his pack and his responsibility. Scott will not become a murderer and Stiles will not see his friend turn into a monster and Allison will not loose another person she cares about and Derek needs to do this before another girl like Lydia ends up hurt or another boy like Scott gets dragged into this mess.

Alpha.

Power.

It awakens and he can feel it. And he gives the bite to Jackson and leaves the boy, trying to cope as best he can without letting the others see. Because he has to have the control to master this or else he will end up like Peter (he can't, won't, mustn't). An entirely new beast arises and he runs for nights, days, loosing track of time for a while to just come into his own as an Alpha. He knows hunters are gathering, he can feel the tension rises, and he takes action because Scott and Jackson are not fully loyal to the pack right now and he cannot risk it.

Erica is the first. Isaac is the second. Erica was sick and hurting and in so much pain, but now she is given a new chance at life because of him. And Isaac is so troubled at home and Derek wants to give him a family, a place to be safe, and it works. They are loyal to him and one day both Scott and Jackson will turn around. He knows Stiles might be easy to sway but when he asked he still was told, "No, and you're psycho uncle tried too but I said no and that is final and would you really want me in your pack?"

And then he sees her.

Maddie grew up too. Derek can tell that San Francisco has been good to her, time has been good, and maybe just maybe he needs to keep himself in check because she is no longer the little girl who used to cling to him when they were younger. Legs and chest and everything else, and while she might not be a blonde bombshell like Erica she has her own appeal. But what makes him stop his car is more of the fact that she is here, in Beacon Hills, and there is a war brewing and the town is right in the middle of it. The Argents would know about her because Kate would have told them about Derek Hale's little wannabe girlfriend. And the sudden pull to take her and whisk her away to safety makes him stop himself from going to talk to her.

He can't drag her into this.

But she already is too deep now because a few weeks later the lead Argent is at her house and no, Derek is not checking up on her, not one bit, and there is yelling, he can hear that even without the wolf, and shots fired ring out into the night that send him jumping from his car, fangs and claws already showing, eyes blazing red, and the door is swung open to find Maddie standing over a body, eyes wide and large, cast iron fire poker in her hands, gun several feet away from what is Gerard Argent. The old hunter might not be dead but he is certainly knocked out and it stuns Derek enough that he shifts back and just stares, eyes meeting her's. It registers in the back of his mind that somehow one of them needs to call the police or at the very least throw Argent out of her house, but right now all they do is stare because this is the most surreal moment either of them have ever been in.

Derek leaves.

Maddie apparently calls the police and has the old man arrested not just for trespassing but also for attempted murder thanks to the gun. It was a lucky shot with the poker apparently and the hunters are more than pissed but with the leader right now facing charges they have a mess to clean up and no way to do so. Derek hears this from Stiles when the boy drags Scott and Jackson to his house and makes them realize they are stronger in numbers than alone. Lydia is there too, and Eric drops by with Isaac in tow, and Derek thinks that somehow he has a pack again, even if they drive him crazy with their teenage drama most of the time.

He does not admit that while this does make him happy there is still something (someone) missing.

It takes two weeks before he sees her again and this time it is only because Maddie comes by the remains of the Hale House and Derek is there like he always is. He watches as she sits on the porch and there is a box in her hand with the familiar markings and it makes him rolls his eyes at it but he still goes outside and sits next to her like they always did before everything went to shit in his life. Neither say anything but he takes the box of chocolate animal crackers and opens it, munching on a few before offering the box to her and she takes a couple as well. An arm reaches out and he finds that he does not wince from the touch and relaxes when he can listen to her heartbeat next to his. She smells the same, of chocolate, mint, grass, and something else, but it smells like home, pack, mine, mate, which leaves Derek to close his eyes just savoring this tiny bit of happiness he knows might not last as long as he wishes it would. Neither says a word while they sit and demolish the box of cookies while the teenagers are in school. He ponders over what her life was life after she stopped sending those letters and stopped trying to call him. He knew that she was hurt like he was after the fire, he knew that shutting her out might have been wrong, but he also knows that she understood in some twisted sort of way that he needed time, space, and everything that New York, and he does not bring this up because it would only lead to interrupting the quiet.

Instead his hand finds hers and he laces his fingers through hers while they sit and wait together for the world to explode.


	2. Hazy Morning After

For Ava again, a second part. I'll keep this as completed, think of these as one-shots to a now AU universe. I own Maddie and nothing else.

* * *

Her pillow is warm. And it moves.

Okay, so it is not actually a pillow, but part of Maddie's brain is not functioning properly at the moment considering it is around five in the morning when her phone vibrates and wakes her up. The daze is enough to mix up pillow with Derek, but they both fell asleep last night in this tangled mess, so her brain can assume all it wants. Derek the pillow, a nice ring to it, comes through fuzzy thoughts. It makes a half-smile form on her lips. Hell, Derek the pillow makes her want to blow off this interview too just because for all the muscles and the chiseled looks, he is actually nice and warm and snuggly in a manner only Maddie gets to have. That happens more because if any of the pack saw this there would definitely be some growling from all sides and explanations demanded as to why the human woman gets to snuggle with the Alpha and no one else does.

Not like they did anything last night other than talk, eat, and just reconnect in a way that they haven't been doing lately. Maddie closes her eyes, hand moving down from its current position on Derek's chest to her phone resting on her hip, shutting off the alarm and chucking the device on the table. A few more minutes of peace would be nice.

But she can't and she knows she can't, Derek knows she can't, and he's moving now and the warm is all there still, but he's stretching his arms and making her move too. Maddie opens her eyes again and tries to refocus on this moment and remember what exactly had gone on. Nothing did happen because they both are still dressed in last night's clothing, minus shoes because she told him shoes off since her dad was sleeping and the footsteps made were too heavy and would wake him up. Derek obliged then, staring off at the spot where he saw that Argent man's body face down the other week, while the sneakers were kicked off.

They talked and talked and talked, about her life in San Francisco, about how he was in New York, and there were a few moments when she just knew this was going to be hard, on the both of them, but she kept him talking. When it got too much, because reading Derek Hale is a fine art to master and she has had years of practice, she would interrupt with something silly and stupid, to get him to just give her this glare she's seen only reserved for when his pack does something life-threatening to themselves and others, and it breaks her heart just a tiny bit.

Maddie knows she stayed away from Peter Hale, Kate Argent, and the fire, because he's still not ready for that talk yet. She knows just from one look.

That breaks her heart even more.

* * *

"San Francisco… was there anyone else?"

"Only one that was serious and it ended way before I came back."

"Why?"

"Because apparently I pined for someone who wasn't giving me the time of day back then and it was obvious to everyone but me."

"Maddie, I-"

"Don't. I get it. No need to say anything."

* * *

Derek blames himself for a lot of things that happened. He knows that most of his guilt can be justified by the simple fact he was sixteen and stupid, sixteen and reckless, sixteen and just too damn naïve to think with anything other than his dick at the time, but the fact remains he is still guilty.

He holds her close when she finally falls asleep and savors the fact that something, someone, he can call his is safe for now and that no one will touch her or break her in any way. Not so long as he is around because another person is not going to end up dying because of him. She is so soft and warm and he indulges for the moment, letting his guard finally down, closing his eyes, and listens. He hears her heart slowly beating against his, how her breath hitches slightly while she dreams, how she mumbles when she sleeps, and thinks that this is entire his, no one else's, and he will be damn sure no one is going to ruin that.

He was once told he deserved some happiness in his life. Maybe now he can get that.

It is not too hard to imagine what his life could be like. Sleep comes quicker these days. When he dreams Derek sees his family, alive, safe, full, and he thinks that maybe he could have that again. Pack. He wants his pack safe and happy, all of them, even Allison and Stiles, because even if Allison is an Argent she is Scott's, that much is clear, and Stiles, well, the boy grows on you after a while even he never seems to shut up. Besides, Erica has this little thing for him and Isaac, and maybe they could make that work and be happy. He can picture his home, his house, back to its original state, full of people, and it makes him think that maybe when the day is done and everything they need to do is finished, he can have that again.

He dreams and sees Maddie there too, smiling, and he dreams he is walking up and wrapping her up in his arms, and there are children, with her smile and his eyes, and he is happy because they come up and hug him too. Derek can indulge every now and then, or at least this dream version of him, and when he wakes up part of him is angry that this fantasy is over.

* * *

"Are you staying? Not going back to New York?"

"In Beacon Hills?"

"Yeah."

"Suppose. Pack's here, can't let these idiots run around unsupervised."

"Even with-"

"Even with those… people here. Are you staying?"

"I suppose so too."

* * *

Untangling limbs makes her ache even more, and not in a good way. She moves to stand, stretch her legs out and arms going behind both their heads, body arching like a cat would after being curled up for hours on end. A lazy grin is shot in his directions when she moves to stand. Standing over she looks at the man, more than a man, her Derek, going through the motions of waking up on the couch, rubbing sleep form his eyes and growling softly at the loss of what was a nice human blanket. Chuckles come softly at that.

"You go shower. I'll make breakfast."

The reply is only a grunt, growl, and then a whine because it means he has to move and actually go up stairs rather than staying put on the couch. But she knows that he will go because he knows he takes less time in the shower than she does and won't use up all the hot water. Maddie even remembered to leave a change of clothing, something from the old days when her father was still fit, in the bathroom. Nothing fancy, jeans, a black tee shirt, and it is more than enough for now.

Wandering in into the kitchen she can hear the steps of feet heading up stairs and sighs again, thinking that this can only last for so long. Bread is put into the toaster over, eggs are taken out and scrambled because she really does not want to deal with any other kind, and bacon is thrown into a pan to crisp up. Even with just plain old normal human hearing she can listen to the water running in the old house, hear the shower going off and on, picturing Derek just then stepping into the shower, out of the shower, and everything in between.

Maddie grows red and tries to focus on not burning breakfast.

But she doesn't finish in time before Derek is already walking down, not bothering with the black tee shirt and seemingly settling on just the jeans that are a bit too large, but even then her father was taller and larger than he is now, so it doesn't matter so much. Not the first time she has seen him shirtless, not going to be the last time either.

"Coffee?"

"Cabinet next to the cookies."

He starts making the coffee while she pulls out the food and sets the table. He grabs the mugs, she gets the plates, and both bump into each other when they try to go for the silverware. The bacon is salty, crunchy, and ready, the eggs just slightly over scrambled but they manage, and jelly is taken with toast a bit too dry. It's not perfect but she never said she was actually a good cook in the first place.

* * *

"Got an interview tomorrow. English teacher at Beacon Hills High School."

"How?"

"Next school year, old Mrs. Wallace is finally leaving."

"You'll get it. And you'll be able to watch over the pack too."

"It's just an interview."

"You'll get it."

* * *

Derek does the dishes because Maddie goes upstairs to get ready. He knows exactly where everything goes because everything is exactly the same. He remember where the cookies were, where the mugs are, where the even the Poptarts are stashed away. But even then doing dishes and putting them away is not enough to distract from other thoughts, darker ones that get fueled by something else.

Maddie is upstairs in the shower. She is upstairs, in the shower, naked.

It makes his eyes go red because he can hear every little detail, every movement she makes there, and it makes the images comes quicker than he would like. The idea of him taking her up against the light blue bathroom tile with the water running is just one of many that come to mind. The wolf itself is howling for him to take what is rightfully his, not quite yet satisfied with the fact that the woman is staying here, staying with him. Every bit of control he uses and it stops him from leaping up the stairs and doing just that.

He breaks the mug in his head accidently and the feeling of porcelain in his skin brings him back to reality. Eyes return to their normal color and he looks at his reflection in the shiny metal sink. Fangs are elongated but at least the red is gone.

He takes a deep breath and finishes up, grabbing the shirt that was left hanging on the banister by the stairs. Pulling it own he listens as the shower stops. Eyes are closed and he takes a seat on the couch, just listening to the sound of her footsteps, of her pulling together everything that he knows she needs for now, and it makes him smile just a tiny bit. Everything will be okay. Everything will be fine. Nothing bad will happen and they will be golden.

* * *

"I need to get the house back from the state."

"To rebuild?"

"It's mine. Not theirs."

"I know a lawyer."

"No. I'll figure something out."

* * *

A pair of heels is not her favorite thing in the world to wear. Neither is a skirt. But she walks down the stairs trying to muster up the grace and confidence that has to get her through this thing. It is worth the raised eyebrows and pointed look that gets sent her way and she does a little twirl at the end to celebrate not breaking her neck.

That earns an eye roll and a huff.

Maddie catches the edges of his eyes growing slightly red and looses the attitude quickly. Someone is possessive and she knows it is testing his patience. Besides, Derek is nice enough to give her a ride to the school that morning, if only because he can also grab a peek at just how his lovely puppies are fairing. The black Camaro is one hell of a car, on that she knows he takes pride in being his. Zipping through the waking town of Beacon Hills is child's play and she wonders partially how the both of them will be staying here.

Beacon Hills High School is where this interview is taking place. Already students are heading inside by the time the car pulls up and she glances at the clock. A bit after seven but the interview is at eight and she still needs to make it through stairs, halls, and masses to arrive on time. A hand reaches out to rest on her own and she looks over to Derek, slightly confused, but there is nothing in his face that tells her he wants her to stay. Instead there is just a quick nod and a gentle squeeze and she notes the red has gone away again.

Without a word sh leans over and places a gentle kiss on his lips in a gesture of thanks, the first time that she has done so since they were both teenagers, stupid, silly teenagers so much like the ones that are suddenly becoming the both of theirs to watch over. "Thank you," she whispers, knowing he can here every word. "It won't take long."

His reply is a gruff, "You'll be fine. Good luck," and she exits the car, carrying books, lesson plans, every bit of references she manages to pull out. The interview doesn't seem so bleak anyone.

It makes her smile just a bit when he rolls down the window and slides his aviators back one, nodding as she smiles and turns to go met the future.

* * *

"What happens now?"

"We move on. Things are different. You know that."

"You're different."

"Yes."

"I'm different."

"… Yes."

"Derek?"

"Hmm?"

"I missed you."

* * *

Derek knows the moment she comes back out with a grin on her face and a bounce as she walks that everything went better than okay. She babbles excitedly in only a way that Maddie is allowed to do about just went on while he drives back to her house, trying to fight the urge to just pull the car over, taking her right then and there. For one the Sheriff has taken to having more officers out on patrol these days and getting arrested for public indecency would put a dent in both their plans.

Instead he makes it through, growling in frustrated as they hit a red light, one of too many, without taking it out on the car. Slowly the babbles stop and he sees that his companion is staring out the window with some goofy grin on her face.

He pulls the car into the driveway, noting that the red truck is gone. Her father is gone for a few days, doctors to see, specialists, and he is grateful that the man is just not there for now. Derek smirks slightly, taking a peek over at Maddie who already is itching to get out of the skirt and heels, and it nearly makes him chuckle and just how fast she can get to the door while he is still in the car. It is more than enough to make him rethink just what he wanted to do today.

He steps out of the car, locking it and glancing around, ensuring that there is no one watching, no one coming, and especially no hunters waiting for him, her, and anyone else. A quick sniff proves that it is just the two of them now. Good. But it does more than just allow him a chance to relax. He can catch her scent again, chocolate, mint, mate, his, and just a bit of his own mixed with hers, and it can send him over the edge if something is not done soon enough. He knows what that something is. Hell, it has been clawing at the surfer ever since she stepped into his life with those animal crackers a couple of weeks ago.

It makes sense now, as he follows her inside, then up the stairs, silently watch as he knows she grows more confused as to just why he is following her.

But when they reach her room, she slips off the shoes, dropping a couple of inches, and pushes the door open, waiting and giving him this _look_ that makes him raise an eyebrow back.

"You said mate last night."

"I don't lie to you."

"Then mate, as in…"

"Yeah."

"Good."

Derek looks down at her, Maddie, his Maddie, and he sees not only the five year old that wiggled into his life or the thirteen year old who came crying into his arms when she needed a friend or the sixteen year old to tried to stop him from doing that twisted mistake with Kate, but he sees Maddie the grown up woman, Maddie the wolf wants as his mate, Maddie that just opens her arms and accepts him for what he is when the mass majority would shun, and it is enough to make him grab her from behind and host her up into his arms.

He feels legs wrapping around his waist, pressing her body up against his as he crashes his lips against her. Hear her heartbeat racing, feel her chest rise up and down as she gasp for air, breaking off the kiss and just looks at him with this need, like something she's been hiding locked away for years, and it makes him move to the bed where they both fall into messy covers and pillows.

Clothing is torn apart from the both of them in minutes in a furry, shoes kicked off, pants gone, shirt chucked in a corner, and for a moment he takes in the site of her, naked, willing, and every bit like the picture he had in his head earlier that morning. "Mine," he murmurs against her skin, taking care to leave marks all along her neck so everyone will know she is his and no one else's.

They spend the rest of the day getting to know one another again in a very new way.

* * *

"So, red eyes."

"I'm the alpha now."

"And the wolf is okay with me? Being human, hanging around you all the time?"

"… Mate."

"What?"

"The wolf… I recognize you as mate."

"Don't I have to be-"

"No. You're mine. That's what matters."


End file.
